The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond

    75 Lake Avenue, Melrose, MA, 02176
    4.7 · 14 reviews
    • Independent living
    • Assisted living
    AnonymousLoved one of resident
    5.0

    Five-star compassionate family-like staff care

    I would gladly spend my final years at The Fitch. It's a beautiful, home-like community with a loving, family-like staff who went above and beyond through a very tough year - five-star, compassionate care that reassured our whole family. I happily serve as a reference.

    Pricing

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    Amenities

    4.71 · 14 reviews

    Overall rating

    1. 5
    2. 4
    3. 3
    4. 2
    5. 1
    • Care

      5.0
    • Staff

      5.0
    • Meals

      4.7
    • Amenities

      4.7
    • Value

      4.7

    Pros

    • Exceptional staff quality
    • Staff provide amazing, attentive care
    • Staff supportive of families and communicative
    • Caring staff who go above and beyond
    • Family-like, community atmosphere
    • Home-like, comfortable environment
    • Residents and families feel reassured about well-being
    • Suitable for long-term care
    • Willingness of reviewers to serve as references
    • In-person visits available and encouraged
    • Beautiful facility and pleasant surroundings
    • Positive outlook and encouragement to live life fully
    • Strong sense of gratitude from families and residents
    • Local/hometown community feel

    Summary review

    Overall sentiment: The reviews for The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond are overwhelmingly positive, with repeated emphasis on the quality and compassion of the caregiving team. Across multiple reviewers, the single dominant theme is staff excellence — staff are described as superb, loving, caring, and consistently willing to go above and beyond. Families and residents repeatedly note that the staff’s approach creates a home-like, family atmosphere in which residents feel comfortable, supported, and well cared for. Several reviewers explicitly state that the care provided reassured families about their loved ones’ well-being and that they would be willing to be contacted as references, which signals strong trust and satisfaction among those who posted summaries.

    Care quality and staff: The reviews specifically highlight exceptional levels of personal care and attention. Phrases such as "amazing care," "outstanding care," "superb care," and "gift beyond measure" appear across summaries, indicating not only clinical competence but also emotional support and kindness from staff. Multiple accounts reference staff helping residents feel at home and creating a family/community feel. Reviewers also note that staff supported families through a difficult year, suggesting reliability during challenging circumstances. The consistent praise suggests strong day-to-day caregiving and a culture that prioritizes resident dignity and comfort.

    Facilities and environment: While most commentary centers on staff and care, reviewers also describe the facility as beautiful and home-like. The physical environment is portrayed as pleasant and welcoming — reviewers use terms like "beautiful place" and "nice people," and emphasize that the setting contributes to residents feeling at ease. The combination of a well-kept facility and attentive staff appears to reinforce the perception of a warm, residential atmosphere rather than an institutional one.

    Family involvement, transparency, and visits: Reviews indicate that The Fitch encourages family involvement and transparency. Multiple summaries mention that families feel reassured about their relatives’ well-being and that in-person visits are part of the experience, which points to accessible communication and observable caregiving. The stated willingness of reviewers to act as references further implies confidence in the community’s transparency and openness to outside inquiry.

    Services, activities, dining, and management (limitations and inferred patterns): The available summaries are rich regarding staff and emotional care but sparse on specifics about dining, programming/activities, or administrative/management details. Because reviewers consistently highlight the staff-driven culture, one can infer that front-line caregiving and community relationships are strengths; however, there is insufficient direct information to evaluate meal quality, structured recreational programming, clinical services beyond general care, or administrative responsiveness. The uniformly positive tone toward staff may indirectly reflect effective management and staffing practices, but that inference is not explicitly confirmed in the summaries.

    Notable patterns and considerations: Recurrent patterns include (1) high praise for individual and team caregiving, (2) a family-like community atmosphere that supports both residents and their families, and (3) an emphasis on reassurance and trust, shown by offers to be references and statements about residents being happy. There are no negative comments or recurring criticisms in the provided summaries, which suggests strong satisfaction among this reviewer subset. The main limitation is the narrow focus of these summaries — prospective residents or family members should seek additional details about dining, medical/clinical capabilities, activity schedules, staffing ratios, pricing, and management policies to form a complete evaluation.

    Conclusion: Based on the reviews provided, The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond appears to excel in relational care, creating a warm, home-like environment staffed by dedicated caregivers who support both residents and families. The community comes highly recommended by those who reviewed it here, especially for families prioritizing compassionate, long-term, relational care. For a full decision, supplement these positive firsthand impressions with targeted questions about services, programs, clinical care levels, and costs to ensure the community meets all practical needs as well as the evident emotional and social ones.

    Location

    Map showing location of The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond

    About The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond

    The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond sits in a quiet neighborhood in Melrose, Massachusetts, right near Ell Pond with lovely views of the water and easy access to shops, churches, public transportation, restaurants, and the library. Established in 1918, this non-profit retirement community has a long history of serving seniors with independent living, assisted care, and short-term stays, letting residents choose what suits them best. The community's built for folks who want to live on their own but appreciate some help now and then, offering bright studio layouts and private rooms or suites, each with baths, cable TV, internet, safety features like an emergency call system, and individual temperature control, so there's comfort and safety without feeling crowded.

    Experienced staff and on-site nurses are available around the clock, ready to help, with daily wellness consultations, foot care, assistance with medications, diabetic care, and incontinence care. For people who need a short-term place to stay, maybe while a caregiver is away or during recovery, there's respite care too. Meals cooked by a professional chef come with options for low or no sodium and no sugar, and residents get these served fresh in comfortable dining areas, with snacks available, and guests welcome to join in. There's weekly housekeeping, laundry and dry-cleaning, and home care services, meaning folks don't have to worry about the chores piling up, and the staff takes care of the little things so people can enjoy their time.

    Amenities are wide-ranging, with things like a sunroom, library, outdoor garden, exercise machines, a fireplace, a hair salon, an on-site diner, plus patios and spacious common rooms where people gather or just watch the pond. Residents have access to Wi-Fi and basic cable, communal transportation, off-street and uncovered parking, and help with guest or family visits. The activity calendar includes bingo, bridge, outings, arts and crafts, and social programs, plus regular morning stretches and fitness, and there's a focus on keeping the mind and body active, offering as much or as little as folks like to do on any given day.

    The rooms are air-conditioned and handicap accessible, even on the ground floor for easy movement, and showers are made to be safe for everyone. The building's got wide hallways and sits on spacious, well-kept grounds, giving folks space to breathe but also places to visit with neighbors or family. Staff speak English and keep things running smoothly Monday through Saturday. Being a non-profit, The Fitch aims to make rates reasonable, and they've earned high praise from families and residents with a top community rating and five-star reviews.

    The Fitch - Senior Living on Ell Pond tries to make people feel at home, surrounded by mature trees, pretty views, and the steady help of caring staff, where seniors can keep their independence but trust there's always someone nearby if needed.

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